Anthony Joshua Confirms Next Fight
Joshua’s return to the ring is slated for September, with the iconic Wembley Stadium set to be the battleground.
Boxing fans are on the edge of their seats as former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua inches closer to revealing his next opponent. While speculation swirls around a potential face-off with fellow Brit Daniel Dubois, an official announcement is just days away.
Joshua’s return to the ring is slated for September, with the iconic Wembley Stadium set to be the battleground. With his immense popularity, particularly in his home country, a high-profile opponent could easily draw a capacity crowd exceeding 90,000.
Adding intrigue to the upcoming fight is the involvement of Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh. This marks his first foray into the British boxing market, a move that follows his promotion of the unified super welterweight title fight between Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles on August 3rd. This expansion into the American market has drawn criticism from boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, highlighting the growing international influence of Alalshikh in the fight game.
Joshua is no stranger to filling Wembley Stadium to its brim. He’s done it twice before, for his world title victories over Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin. Meanwhile, the long-anticipated clash between Joshua and Deontay Wilder seems to have faded as a possibility. Wilder’s recent losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang have dampened the excitement for that matchup. Additionally, despite initial rumors, Zhang’s team has confirmed that there has been no contact from Joshua’s camp regarding a potential fight.
With the announcement imminent, the boxing world waits with bated breath to see who Joshua will step into the ring with next. Will it be a war of attrition against the hard-hitting Dubois, or will a different challenger emerge to face the former champion in this highly anticipated Wembley Stadium showdown?
The IBF belt is currently held by Oleksandr Usyk. Although the IBF considered stripping him of the title before the fight between Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois, Dubois’ win over the top-ranked contender has made the IBF more cautious about forcing Usyk’s hand.
There is a possibility the IBF will sanction the Joshua vs. Dubois fight as a world title match, but it’s more likely they will treat it as an eliminatory bout, with the winner being next in line for a title shot against Usyk or Tyson Fury.
Usyk’s recent hints about potentially stepping back down to cruiserweight could further complicate the heavyweight division’s dynamics. For now, the boxing world awaits further announcements.
